1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to techniques for transcoding web content, and more particularly to systems and methods for transcoding clusters of web pages to enable access to web services from a variety of client devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a rapidly increasing use of the Internet for commercial and non-commercial transactions. These transactions allow a user to use and access the products or services offered by a web site. These interactions generally take place by the use of graphical forms that allow a user to receive and submit information. The use of these interactive graphical forms for transactions has generally required the use of conventional display screens for viewing the graphical content.
Increasingly, pervasive devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), hand held computers, smart phones, TV browsers, wearable computers and mobile devices are gaining access to the Internet and other multimedia-rich information sources. However, the capacity of these devices to receive, store and display Internet content varies widely. For example, the graphical content of web pages cannot easily be viewed by voice-only interactions, nor by the small displays built into portable devices. As a result, many of these alternative devices cannot be used for certain types of web-based transactions.
To enable universal access in the coming age of pervasive computing, systems are being developed that tailor the content of web pages for pervasive computing devices. This tailoring process is called transcoding. The transcoding system adapts video, images, audio and text to the individual pervasive devices using a framework that allows the content to be summarized, translated and converted, on-the-fly.
One area where there is a need for transcoding systems is in web-based transactions. Conventional web pages require interaction with clusters of web pages to gain access to products and services being offered. For example, companies like e Bay, Yahoo!, and On sale, provide web-based auction services, and Amazon and Barnes & Noble act as on-line booksellers. The way that consumers access these services is through sets of interrelated web pages. These web pages typically include text and form controls through which the user retrieves information and enters input to communicate with the service-provider. For example, on an e-Commerce site, a user clicks on a hyperlink to select an item for purchase and receives a web page containing a form element to enter her credit-card information. She inputs her credit-card information and receives another form to enter her slipping address, etc. These kinds of multi-step transactions are necessary for a user to obtain web products or services.
Currently web pages, which are typically written in Hypertext mark-up language (HTML), are designed solely for display by devices using conventional graphical browsers, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Usually, when a user attempts to access these pages by voice or a small-screen device, the page loses both meaning and functionality. Consequently, users of such devices find it difficult or impossible to obtain the information and services provided by existing web pages.
One approach to adapting web data for more efficient display and interaction through alternative client devices, has been to find a general solution that handles all web content by concentrating on syntactic translations from one medium to another. One example of this approach is the IBM Infopyramid model, which consists of different classes that deal with different media types. (See http://www.research.ibm.co,/networked_data_systems/transcoding/index/html) Since HTML pages do not separate content from representation, however many transcoding systems result in translations that result in loss of meaning or functionality. In particular, navigation through visual information is aided by the page layout. Through a quick glance, a visually oriented user with a fullsized view of the image is easily able to find a piece of information embedded in an HTML page. By voice (which is serial), or by looking at fragmented sections of the page, a user will experience more difficulty. Since HTML does not provide support for computer programs to interpret the function and meaning of data segments, translation programs face the challenge of how to organize and meaningfully render the raw data.
In view of these considerations, a system and method to transcode web content in a semantic context is needed. A system is also needed that can anticipate a user's needs to generate a concise, but semantically sound, rendering of web content.
The present invention has carefully considered the above problems and has provided the solution set forth herein.